Vagrants

Chapter 54

The following week didn't seem to go well because I had to watch Tayo and Folake argue and fight with each other or sometimes I overhear them yelling at themselves.

It all began on a rainy day. Tayo had returned from work dejected. He'd being fired because there was a crisis in his workplace and they had to lay off some employees.

"Folake! Why is the food not ready yet?" Tayo had hissed.

"It's just 5 pm and you usually don't come home until..."

"Shut up! Bring the food on time."

I assisted Folake in the Kitchen to make things easier for her. I was setting the table while Tayo was in the living room pulling off his tie so I asked.

"How was work?" I thought making him talk about it would help him calm down.

"And what's your business with that?"

"I just thought that..."

"I got fired! Check the news and stop bothering me about it!" He snapped.

I did check the news but I didn't try to calm Tayo down. I knew the kind of person he was and I knew that he'd be fine.

But that wasn't the case days after. Tayo continued ranting and yelling at Folake and I couldn't let things slip by. She was my friend after all and I must do something to help them.

While Folake was at work, Tayo was alone in the living room watching football. He kept cheering on his team. Chelsea. Hoping they would score a goal. For every goal the opponent scored, Tayo broke something.

I knew he was frustrated by the turn out of things so I just sat there and watched him, quietly hoping that his team would score at least a goal before the end of the match.

They did score the goal but Tayo got even angrier.

"Idiots! This is when you're supposed to be scoring? After Half-time!" He broke a glass cup.

I got startled every time he broke something but I tried to remain calm, watching him.

"Yes! Yes! You're almost there. Goa...Nooo! " Tayo yelled and placed his hands on his head. "Good for nothing people!"

Then he saw me staring at him. "What?!"

"N-Nothing."

"I saw you staring. What's your problem?"

I needed to say something before Tayo's anger got the better of him and I didn't want to talk about his work or the reason he was angry.

"I...Uh...I was thinking of..." I stuttered.

"Of?"

Come on Adeola! Think.

"Damba!" I bit my tongue hard. Why did his name have to come out of my mouth of all things?

"What's there to think about? You're the one that's stupid. Opening your legs wide for someone you barely knew." He hissed.

"Excuse me?"

"What? Am I lying? You're just a dimwit doing..."

I got up and walked away. I really wanted to believe he was angry so I didn't do anything about it. I just slammed the door to my room after I walked in.

"You had better not break that door or else you'd find yourself paying for it." Tayo hissed. "Not like you have any money to even do it."

I locked the door and cried. I didn't know why this was happening to me and it was all confusing but I tried very hard not to take any rash decisions until Folake returned.

*

Even Folake couldn't do anything about her husband. Things were getting out of hand and we both tried to help him get another job but to no avail.

Their arguments and fights increased and from what I could make out, Tayo usually forced himself on his wife at night.

"Leave me alone!" Folake cried one night.

"No!" Tayo hissed. "We've been married for years and you're yet to give me a child!"

"How is it my fault?"

"No, it's not! But what's our fault is the fact that we're allowing a single pregnant woman to live in our home!"

"Shh...She will hear you." Folake cautioned him.

"Let her hear. She had things so easy and we didn't. We are legally married and she conceived outside marriage. How unfair!"

"But I'll be her baby's godmother."

"Why can't someone be your baby's godmother?" Tayo yelled. "I hate it when I see her around with that protruding belly of hers rubbing it on our face that she could conceive and we couldn't!"

"Tayo, calm down. If she hears you, it wouldn't be good."

"Woman! I said I don't care."

I could hear their bed creak as though he had pushed her hard onto it.

"If you don't want to conceive, I'm going to make you do it even if it is by force!"

"T-Tayo! We have to wait for God to give us..."

I had been standing outside their room door for some reason, eavesdropping. I had gone to get water to drink from the kitchen but heard their voices.

I returned to my bedroom. I'd been a pain in the neck to this couple and I just knew the right thing to do to fix it.